Chapter 24

Lu Zhen briefly contemplated his life.
Ice-cold water dripped down, forming a puddle on the floor. He was only wearing a thin shirt, now soaked and clinging to his body, outlining the contours of his muscles.
Lu Zhen thought for a minute but couldn’t figure out the cause and effect. So he took a deep breath and turned to look at the door.
The voice earlier had been deliberately lowered, and it didn’t belong to anyone he knew, so Lu Zhen couldn’t identify who it was. But he realized one thing: that person hadn’t intended to lock him in.
Then who did they want to lock in?
Outside, Fu Mingxuan was completely stunned.
The voice came through the door, piercing her eardrums clearly. Fu Mingxuan would never mistake it,
How could it be Lu Zhen?!?!
Where was Chu Yin?? Didn’t she ask that person to call Chu Yin over??
They took the money and couldn’t even do the job right! What a useless piece of trash?!
Now, not only had her test failed, but she had inexplicably screwed over Lu Zhen. If Lu Zhen investigated this later, she was done for!!
Just then, Lu Zhen’s icy voice came from inside the room again: "Who am I supposed to save?"
Fu Mingxuan shivered all over, now extremely grateful that the door in front of her was an old one without a peephole. She stood frozen in place, at a loss for a moment, then made a decision,
She slipped away and ran.
She couldn't let Lu Zhen find out she was the one who did it! Besides, it wasn’t even her idea in the first place!
Fu Mingxuan scurried back to the spot where she had been hiding earlier, only to realize that Liang Yueqi, that little bitch, had already vanished without a trace the moment she sensed something was wrong. It was only then that Fu Mingxuan realized she had been completely used as a pawn, and she gritted her teeth in frustration, as expected, rivals in love could never truly join forces!
Hearing the hurried footsteps retreating downstairs, Chu Yin, who was sitting on the stairs, froze for a moment.
They ran away?
Study System: "It seems so, Host."
Chu Yin leaned over the third-floor window and glanced down, indeed catching sight of Fu Mingxuan sneaking away while looking around furtively. Then she sat back down on the steps, resting her chin in her palm.
This scene inexplicably exuded a sense of absurd humor.
Lu Zhen, the eldest son of the Lu family and the future supreme, unchallenged ruler of the Lu Corporation, was now drenched like a drowned rat, trapped in a cold, empty classroom.
Chu Yin pressed her lips together, suppressing the urge to laugh.
But as the mastermind behind it all, she hadn’t completely lost her conscience. So, she raised her slender fingers and manually flattened the curve at the corners of her mouth.
Still, it was just too funny.
Study System: "...If you want to laugh, just laugh."
Chu Yin sat there for a long while, but no one came to the second floor. It just went to show how ruthless women could be, even knowing the person they liked was trapped, those two had disappeared like scumbags to avoid being implicated.
Tsk, tsk.
Chu Yin descended from the third floor and peeked around the corner of the second-floor hallway, suspecting that Lu Zhen might be stuck there until closing time.
Well, she still had a shred of conscience left. After all, she was the one who had gotten Lu Zhen into this mess today.
In her past life, although that dog of a man was involved, Lu Zhen had come to her rescue. So, she might as well consider this her way of repaying the favor.
Chu Yin quietly made her way to the third classroom. Her plan was simple: gently twist the door lock open and then make a run for it. That would be the extent of her goodwill.
But just as she stealthily approached the door, she suddenly heard a loud "Boom, !"
Chu Yin was so startled she flattened herself against the wall.
Immediately after, another deafening "Boom, !" echoed, and this time, the door panel flew straight out, crashing into the wall with a "Bang!"
Lu Zhen had kicked the door open.
Standing outside the door, Chu Yin was left utterly dumbfounded.
The two of them unexpectedly came face to face.
Lu Zhen was wearing a thin shirt that was still damp even after being wrung out. His wet hair was swept back, revealing his pale, smooth forehead.
He looked at her for a few seconds, then raised an eyebrow and smiled.
"So it's you?"
Chu Yin: "???"
Wait, wait a second?!
Don’t misunderstand! It wasn’t me!!!
...
"Really, it wasn’t me," Chu Yin said with a grimace, trailing about a meter behind Lu Zhen. "Classmate, you’ve got the wrong person."
Lu Zhen, however, didn’t seem the least bit angry.
He walked slowly, hands in his pockets, waiting for her.
"Come with me to check the surveillance footage, and we’ll know for sure."
A faint smile played on the young man’s lips, but his voice remained calm and subdued.
A gentle autumn breeze swept by, and the campus was quiet and empty. Lu Zhen’s competition round was the last one, so he was in no hurry. For the first time in his life, he felt that walking could be so interesting.
Chu Yin: ...Regret. All she felt now was regret.
Even a script-altering genius like her could have a day like this.
So,
What use was a conscience?! Could you even eat a conscience?!
That dog of a man, the cheat protagonist, needs you to save him?!
Chu Yin deeply scolded herself and weakly explained, "I was just passing by, someone called me here..."
Lu Zhen paused and looked back at her, "By whom?"
Chu Yin only wanted to clear herself and had no intention of getting involved in any emotional entanglements related to Lu Zhen. She just wanted to mind her own business, so she said, "A teacher called me, then I went to the wrong floor."
Lu Zhen raised an eyebrow, "Is that so?"
He also knew that the voice outside the door couldn’t have been Chu Yin’s.
But... he had finally gotten a little connection with her, and Lu Zhen didn’t want to let it go.
A voice in his heart even humbly wished it had been her.
That way, they would have more ties.
The two of them walked quietly toward the school security office. After a while, Lu Zhen asked softly, "Chu Yin, why didn’t you watch the game?"
Chu Yin, now under suspicion, had no choice but to answer obediently, "I wanted to go back and do my homework."
A smile flickered in Lu Zhen’s eyes. As expected of the little bookworm.
When they reached the security office, the on-duty uncle shook his head upon hearing they wanted to check the surveillance footage, "No, that’s against school regulations. The surveillance can’t be accessed randomly..."
Before he could finish, the head of the security office hurried over and slapped his shoulder hard, "If Young Master Lu wants to see it, let him see it!"
The on-duty staff had, of course, heard of the Lu family’s young master. He hadn’t expected the person in front of him to be him and quickly pulled up the surveillance footage they needed.
Chu Yin rolled her eyes secretly beside them. That dog of a male lead has privileges everywhere, ugh.
Once the computer was set up, the on-duty staff stood up from his chair and respectfully offered the seat to Lu Zhen.
Lu Zhen waved his hand, "No need."
Chu Yin stood beside him, both of them in front of the computer screen. Because the security office was cramped, they were very close, and Lu Zhen subconsciously clenched his fist.
...So fragrant. He smelled it again.
Chu Yin was now eager to clear her name and didn’t care about anything else. She leaned forward slightly, staring intently at the screen.
Since the time wasn’t precise, the first few minutes of the footage were dull. After a while, Lu Zhen finally appeared in the hallway surveillance view. He walked down the hallway, reached the open door of the room, and went inside.
This was something Chu Yin hadn’t seen before. Now that she saw it, she felt like laughing again.
That dog of a man was really set up perfectly.
She immediately pressed her lips together, knowing the real point was about to come.
Just as Lu Zhen stepped inside, a figure suddenly darted into view outside the surveillance range. With a sweeping motion of their hand, the door was slammed shut with a loud "bang!" followed by the click of the lock.
Although the surveillance video had limited resolution, Fu Mingxuan’s face was still faintly recognizable.
Now with solid evidence, Chu Yin straightened up excitedly and quickly distanced herself from Lu Zhen: "See? It really wasn’t me!"
It really wasn’t me who locked it! (Though I’m not entirely unrelated.)
Lu Zhen lowered his gaze.
Usually, she appeared rigid, wooden, and obedient. But in that moment, unable to suppress her delight, her beautiful eyes sparkled brightly, as if filled with stars.
Lu Zhen smiled as well. "Yeah, it wasn’t you."
The light of those stars burned so fiercely it made his chest ache.
Chu Yin thanked the person on duty and, without lingering any longer, quickly left the security office.
As soon as she descended the stairs, she ran into Song Zhaolin, who had hurried over as the unwitting accomplice.
"What are you guys doing here? I had to ask all over the place to find you!" Song Zhaolin looked suspiciously at Chu Yin and Lu Zhen, who had followed her out, his eyes darting back and forth. ", What did you two do?"
Didn’t Brother Zhen used to dislike his deskmate? How come they’re suddenly acquainted?
Chu Yin smiled. "We didn’t do anything."
When Song Zhaolin saw Lu Zhen lazily walking out behind her, he let out another yelp: "Brother Zhen, did you go take a shower?"
Lu Zhen looked slightly disheveled but in a good mood. "You could say that."
Song Zhaolin stared blankly. "W-wearing clothes while showering?"
Chu Yin didn’t want to stick around and chat with them, so she said, "I’m heading back to the classroom."
Song Zhaolin immediately shifted his attention. "Hey, wait, Sister Yin, the competition is starting right now. Come watch with us!"
Chu Yin: "I, "
Lu Zhen, standing behind her, suddenly called out to her: ", Good student."
Chu Yin had no choice but to turn back. "What is it?"
Lu Zhen looked at her deeply, a smile curling at the corners of his lips. "I’m about to compete. Could you... do me a favor? Keep an eye on the person from the surveillance footage for me."
Song Zhaolin’s expression grew even more suspicious. "Who? What person? What happened?!"
Chu Yin: "..."
Lu, you scoundrel! Who wants to help you?!
After saying this, Lu Zhen strode over, pulled Song Zhaolin a bit farther away from Chu Yin, and patted his shoulder with an ambiguous meaning before turning to head to the gymnasium locker room to change into his protective gear.
Although Song Zhaolin didn’t fully grasp the meaning, driven by his burning curiosity, he dutifully blocked Chu Yin’s path and, through a mix of persuasion and coaxing, eventually escorted her back to the bleachers.
"How can you be so indifferent to the collective honor?" Song Zhaolin chattered on until Chu Yin completely lost her patience.
"Just shut up already."
"Who was the person Brother Zhen asked you to keep an eye on?" Song Zhaolin couldn’t keep quiet, staring at her eagerly. "Wait, with me here, why would he ask you?"
Chu Yin sighed helplessly. "Curiosity killed the cat. Ask less."
Song Zhaolin’s eyes rolled thoughtfully as he considered Lu Zhen and Chu Yin’s appearances and personalities, finally arriving at a reasonable guess: "Could it be... could it be that you two have some kind of secret affair?!"
Chu Yin, who was climbing the stairs, nearly choked on her breath.
...Where’s my knife? Where’s my knife?!
"What affair?!" She smacked Song Zhaolin's head. "My only affair is with studying, are men even worthy?!"
Song Zhaolin clutched his skull, whimpering.
Such a ruthless and badass statement, this was truly his Sister Yin!!!
But Song Zhaolin still secretly felt that Brother Zhen and Sister Yin had little secrets behind his back, so he kept observing them from the side.
Jiang Yan was a bit surprised to see Chu Yin return: "Why are you back?"
Before Chu Yin could speak, Song Zhaolin mysteriously chimed in from behind: "Special mission!"
Jiang Yan: "?"
"..." Chu Yin said, "Ignore him. I just came back to sit for a while."
Jiang Yan nodded and cleared a seat for her: "Lu Zhen is about to go on, everyone's excited."
Even someone as focused on studying as her knew how attractive the school heartthrob Lu Zhen was.
But Chu Yin wasn’t interested.
Fencing, being an aristocratic sport, was something the Lu family had intentionally cultivated. Although Lu Zhen’s skill wasn’t at a professional level, it was more than enough to dominate the high school students at Quiwen. Chu Yin had no desire to watch the jerk show off.
She glanced around and noticed Fu Mingxuan sitting to the side, looking a bit dazed. Usually, if Lu Zhen was competing, she’d be excitedly leaning over the railing to watch. Her current behavior was clearly abnormal, whatever was on her mind was impossible to hide.
Chu Yin then looked across the aisle toward the international class. Liang Yueqi, on the other hand, appeared calm and composed, watching the match while chatting with her classmates.
It seemed Liang Yueqi’s level was still much higher than Fu Mingxuan’s.
Soon, Lu Zhen stepped onto the field.
Dressed in a pure white protective suit with a chest plate and arm guards, the outfit didn’t look bulky on him. Instead, it accentuated his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and long legs. Lu Zhen held his mask in hand, not wearing it yet, and his indifferent gaze swept across the stands.
The entire female audience erupted in screams.
"Ahhhh! He made eye contact!"
"Did he just look at me?! He looked at me, right?!"
"Go get your eyes checked if they’re that bad! Ahhhh, he’s so handsome!!!"
Chu Yin covered her ears, feeling a bit hopeless as she glanced to the side.
Then she noticed that Song Zhaolin, that idiot, was howling even louder than the girls.
, "Brother Zhen! Awesome! Brother Zhen! Unbeatable!"
"..." Chu Yin slumped onto the stands in despair.
The match began. With the mask on, Lu Zhen’s face was hidden, but he wielded a foil with clean, precise attacks, his blocks were textbook-perfect, and he maintained an excellent offensive and defensive distance.
Advance, press the wrist, hit, score.
The opponent couldn't hold up at all. As Chu Yin expected, they were completely dominated throughout the match.
The screams from the girls in the school never stopped.
Many senior high school girls even sneaked over to watch Lu Zhen compete.
Chu Yin finally realized that the male lead's appeal sometimes had nothing to do with his face.
The match ended, and Lu Zhen won effortlessly.
After Song Zhaolin's excitement faded, he began to worry, "Oh no, oh no, Brother Zhen is going to sweep the championship again this year. What do we do? Class 5's points won't be able to beat the international class again..."
Chu Yin remained expressionless: You didn't think about that just now.
On the court, Lu Zhen took off his mask.
The young man shook his black hair slightly, curled his lips, and lifted his gaze, sweeping it across Class 5's stands.
Those who knew about the rivalry between the two classes saw this as a provocation.
The girls in Class 5 screamed uncontrollably, while the boys were fired up.
Song Zhaolin clenched his fists, "Even if it's just for pride, we will definitely give it our all!!"
Chu Yin cooperatively said, "Go for it."
Song Zhaolin added, "Sis Yin, you have to do well in tomorrow's pool competition!"
Chu Yin replied perfunctorily, "Yeah, yeah, yeah."
Besides the pool competition, she would put in even more effort elsewhere!
She would strive to make her unique contribution to the class (clenching her fist).
...
After Lu Zhen left the court, many girls in the stands prepared to leave.
But just then, two security personnel walked up to the stands, made their way to Fu Mingxuan, and said a few words.
Then, everyone saw Fu Mingxuan stand up, her face deathly pale, and follow them away.
The people around speculated about what had happened to Fu Mingxuan.
Not long after, there was a new development! The two security personnel came back up, and this time, they escorted Liang Yueqi away.
Chu Yin stroked her chin, thinking that when it came to Lu Zhen, the school's efficiency was really high.
That same day, rumors began to spread.
According to those who were close by in the stands, they heard that Fu Mingxuan had done something to Lu Zhen, locking him up and even splashing water on him.
Soon, testimonies emerged, with several people claiming they saw Lu Zhen returning to the court in wet clothes.
Once Lu Zhen was involved, the gossip spread like wildfire. Someone quickly started a discussion thread on the forum.
[From Love to Hatred, Gradual Insanity? What Kind of Drama Is This?, , ]
1L: Eating melons.
2L: So this involves Liang Yueqi too?
3L: Tsk, tsk, although Miss Liang never explicitly says it, hasn't she always acted like the future daughter-in-law of the Lu family?
4L: This melon is getting more and more confusing.
...
37L: New scoop, they did it together. Rumor has it the Fu and Liang families both apologized to the Lu family.
38L: Holy crap!
39L: Holy crap! I'm grabbing my melon and running!
...
77L: So, is it madness for love? Rivals joining forces, locking him up in a dark room? How thrilling!!
While Chu Yin was doing her homework that night, her phone lit up.
Opening it, she saw that Song Zhaolin had forwarded the thread to her and asked, [Sis, were these the two Brother Zhen asked you to keep an eye on?]
Chu Yin didn't like the forum, but she clicked in to take a look anyway.
Seeing that the comments had even started veering toward dark room imprisonment, Chu Yin was speechless for a moment.
Remembering her past life trapped by Lu Zhen's side, she couldn't help but think: ...What kind of imprisonment is this?!
Today's youngsters have such unconventional thinking. It seems she needs to keep expanding her sources of inspiration.
Chu Yin turned off her phone and sighed: "I often feel anxious because I'm not twisted enough."
Both the Liang and Fu families had indeed apologized to Lu Zhen.
Originally, Liang Yueqi wasn't involved, but Fu Mingxuan couldn't bear taking the blame alone, so she dragged Liang Yueqi down with her. The result was both of them receiving disciplinary actions.
In the script, Lu Zhen coldly said: "You should apologize to the actual victim."
But no matter how they were questioned, Fu Mingxuan and Liang Yueqi stubbornly insisted it was just a misunderstanding, never revealing their foolish original plan. Therefore, from beginning to end, Chu Yin was never implicated.
After reading through the script, Chu Yin found it had completely followed the direction she hoped for, with almost no need for revisions.
Moreover, since this entire segment was about resolving this matter, Chu Yin couldn't find any opportunity to target Lu Zhen either.
Thus, she spent a peaceful night.
The next day at school, Song Zhaolin looked at Chu Yin with resentment.
"Sister Yin, you didn't reply to my WeChat." Song Zhaolin pouted.
Chu Yin was completely used to his antics by now. Casually taking her notebook and workbook from her bag, she replied: "Sorry, I forgot after reading the post."
Song Zhaolin: "You read it?"
Chu Yin: "Mm."
"How did you feel? Anything to add?"
Chu Yin was really fed up with this gossipy boy: "No!"
Song Zhaolin hummed and stared at her, suddenly experiencing that bittersweet feeling girls get when "their best friend keeps secrets from them."
Ignoring his gaze, Chu Yin reached into her desk compartment for her pencil case.
While pulling out the pencil case, she accidentally brought out something else - a small pink metal box that fell to the ground with a clear "clack."
Out of habit, Song Zhaolin dutifully bent to pick it up for her. His long arm scooped it up, but when he looked closely, he suddenly exclaimed: "And you still say there's nothing going on between you two!!"
"What nonsense?" Chu Yin glanced down and saw it was the iPod that bastard had given her.
She had originally intended to return it, but after stuffing it deep into her desk that day, she had forgotten about it.
Song Zhaolin held it up, lowering his voice in disbelief: "Isn't this Brother Zhen's thing?!"
Chu Yin raised an eyebrow: "How would you know that?"
"You two are the ones having an affair, aren’t you?!"
Song Zhaolin said, "I remembered it because the color is so flashy, and this scratch on the side looks really familiar to me too!"
Chu Yin replied, "Well, that’s perfect. Please help me return it."
Song Zhaolin said, "If Brother Zhen gave it to you, you should just keep it."
"..." Chu Yin thought of the series of Buddhist scriptures and said, "No need. Leave it for someone who actually needs it."
A moment later.
Song Zhaolin whispered sneakily, "Are you sure there’s no affair?"
"No!! Ask again and I’ll kill myself!!"
Song Zhaolin instantly backed down.
-
That evening, the iPod still ended up back in Lu Zhen’s hands.
Holding the cold metal casing, Lu Zhen toyed with it for a long time.
Perhaps Chu Yin didn’t really like Buddhist scriptures after all, or maybe she just didn’t want to have anything that belonged to him.
Lu Zhen leaned against the headboard, staring at it in a daze for a while.
Then he opened the playlist to see if she had cleared out the things he’d given her.
But when he looked, the Buddhist scriptures were still there, one after another. Lu Zhen randomly played one of them and aimlessly scrolled down.
Suddenly, his gaze froze.
He noticed that at the very bottom of the playlist, there was an extra song.
...Did Chu Yin add it?
The discovery made his heart warm slightly.
It was a foreign song, "Schnappi – Das Kleine Krokodil."
It seemed to be in German, carrying an inexplicable sense of intimacy. Lu Zhen’s fingers trembled slightly as he tapped on the song.
The rhythm... was unexpectedly cheerful.
And unexpectedly... childish?
In the chorus, the child singing kept repeating the word "Schnappi," and the pronunciation sounded vaguely familiar.
Lu Zhen thought for a moment, then called Song Zhaolin, who had passed him the iPod.
"What is Schnappi?"
"Huh?" Song Zhaolin was equally confused.
He asked for the spelling, searched it in a music app, and suddenly burst out laughing:
"I got it, it’s 'The Little Crocodile Song'!"
Lu Zhen: "What song?"
Song Zhaolin sang innocently and happily: "You know, that popular one! The chorus sounds like, 'You’re that dumbass, dumbass, dumbass, dumbass! You’re that dumbass, dumbass, dumbass, dumbass!'"
Lu Zhen: "..."
Lu Zhen hung up the phone.